Applied Materials, Inc.

Apple Inc.

Vidamed, Inc.

Ipg Photonics Corporation

Other

Stryker Corporation

Obsidian, Inc.

Medtronic Vidamed, Inc.

Phillip R Sommer

Dan A Marohl

Stuart D Edwards

Ingemar H Lundquist

Christopher Scott Jones

James A Baker, Jr

John M White

Vijay D Parkhe

Paul D Butterfield

Konstantin Makhratchev

Phillip A Criminale

Steven E Babayan

Zhiqiang Guo

Steve E Babayan

Himesh Patel

Scott Edmonson

Chris Blank

Hugh R Sharkey

Ronald G Lax

James Allen Baker, Jr

Kee S Lee

Kai Min

Seyed Mohammad Javid Mahmoudzadeh

Paul B Butterfield

Scott Wallace Miller

Sasson Roger Somekh

Aurelien R Hubert

Nicholas D Smyth

Qiang Yang

Martin J Auclair

Alexander Brudny

Samuel M Hyatt

Manoocher Birang

Shakti Singh Chauhan

Joshua T Oen

Meng Chi Lee

Bruno Strul

Ching-Ling Meng

Chris J Jones

Charles L Nelson

Manoj Vadeentavida

Yanfeng Chen

Adar Magen

Shankar S Pennathur

Kishore N Renjan

Stephen M Fisher

Jian Ouyang

David Harvey

Halbert Tam

David Proscia

Pavle Stojanovic

Moran Koren

A camera includes a camera actuator having autofocus (AF) voice coil motor (VCM) with a lens carrier mounting attachment moveably mounted to a base, magnets mounted to the base, and an AF coil fixedly mounted to the lens carrier mounting attachment for producing forces for moving a lens carrier in a direction of an optical axis of a lens of the lens carrier. The magnets may include a pair of first magnets laterally spaced along a first side of the camera and a pair of second magnets laterally spaced along a second side of the camera opposite the first side. The optical image stabilization (OIS) VCM includes an image sensor carrier moveably mounted to the base, and OIS coils moveably mounted to the image sensor carrier within the magnetic fields of the magnets, for producing forces for moving the image sensor carrier in directions orthogonal to the optical axis.

Optical image stabilization with voice coil motor for moving image sensor

Implementations described herein provide a substrate support assembly which enables both lateral and azimuthal tuning of the heat transfer between an electrostatic chuck and a heating assembly. The substrate support assembly comprises a body having a substrate support surface and a lower surface, one or more main resistive heaters disposed in the body, a plurality of spatially tunable heaters disposed in the body, and a spatially tunable heater controller coupled to the plurality of spatially tunable heaters, the spatially tunable heater controller configured to independently control an output one of the plurality of spatially tunable heaters relative to another of the plurality of spatially tunable heaters.

Tunable temperature controlled substrate support assembly

A camera includes a lens group, an image sensor, an actuator to move the image sensor relative to the lens group, and a flexure that suspends the image sensor from a stationary structure of the camera and that allows motion of the image sensor enabled by the actuator. The flexure includes a dynamic platform to which the image sensor is connected such that the image sensor moves with the dynamic platform, a static platform connected to a static portion of the camera, a plurality of flexure arms that mechanically connect the dynamic platform to the static platform, and one or more elastic spacers positioned between at least two flexure arms of the plurality of flexure arms.

Flexure arm separator for flexure module of camera with moveable image sensor

Various embodiments include sensor shift flexure arrangements for improved signal routing. For example, a camera with sensor shift actuation may include a flexure for suspending an image sensor from a stationary structure of the camera, and for allowing motion of the image sensor enabled by one or more actuators of the camera. The flexure may be configured to convey electrical signals between the image sensor and a flex circuit in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the flexure may include a stack of layers comprising an electrical grounding portion that has an additional conductive layer adjacent to a base layer, which may reduce the overall resistivity of a ground current return path. In some embodiments, the flexure may additionally or alternatively include an impedance adjusting feature configured to adjust the impedance of an electrical signal pad used to connect the flexure with another component of the camera.

Sensor shift flexure arrangements for improved signal routing

Various embodiments include a dynamic flex circuit that may be used in a camera with a moveable image sensor. The dynamic flex circuit may include one or more fixed end portions, a moveable end portion, and an intermediate portion. In some embodiments, the fixed end portion may be connected to another flex circuit of the camera. The moveable end portion may be coupled with the moveable image sensor. The intermediate portion may be configured to allow the moveable end portion to move with the moveable image sensor. Some embodiments include a reinforcement arrangement that reinforces one or more portions of the dynamic flex circuit.

Dynamic flex circuit for camera with moveable image sensor

A flexure for a camera includes a dynamic platform to which an image sensor and a substrate are connected such that the image sensor and the substrate move together with the dynamic platform. A driver associated with an actuator to move the image sensor relative to a lens group is mounted to the substrate. The flexure also includes a static platform connected to a static portion of the camera, a plurality of flexure arms that mechanically connect the dynamic platform to the static platform, a routing layer and a base layer both at least partially forming the dynamic platform, the static platform, and the plurality of flexure arms, and at least one segmentation region extending through the base layer and configured to physically isolate a return current from the driver and through the base layer from a return current from the image sensor and through the base layer.

Camera module flexure with segmented base layer

Various embodiments include sensor shift flexure arrangements for improved signal routing. For example, a camera with sensor shift actuation may include a flexure for suspending an image sensor from a stationary structure of the camera, and for allowing motion of the image sensor enabled by one or more actuators of the camera. The flexure may be configured to convey electrical signals between the image sensor and a flex circuit in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the flexure may include a stack of layers comprising a conductive layer and an electrical grounding. The conductive layer may include a signal pad region and a signal trace region. A distance between at least one section of the signal pad region and the electrical grounding may be greater than a distance between at least a section of the signal trace region and the electrical grounding.

Variable polyimide thickness to control pad impedance

A method includes generating, external to a radio frequency (RF) environment and based on a process recipe, a first signal and a second signal. The method further includes converting the first signal into an alternative signal and transmitting, over a non-conductive communication link, the alternative signal to a converter within the RF environment within a processing chamber of a substrate processing system. The method further includes converting the alternative signal into a third signal by the converter inside the RF environment within the processing chamber. The method further includes controlling a first plurality of elements disposed within the RF environment within the processing chamber via one or more first devices disposed within the RF environment within the processing chamber using the third signal and controlling a second plurality of elements of the substrate processing system via one or more second devices of the substrate processing system using the second signal.

Consolidated filter arrangement for devices in an RF environment

Various embodiments include flex circuit arrangements for a camera with sensor shift actuation. Some embodiments include a flexure-circuit hybrid structure. Some embodiments include an actuation-module flex circuit hybrid structure. In some embodiments, the hybrid structures may include different portions that share multiple layers of a plurality of stacked layers. In some embodiments, one portion of a hybrid structure may include one or more layers that are different from the layers in another portion of the hybrid structure.

Flex circuit arrangements for camera with sensor shift actuation

A camera may include at least one suspension assembly as part of optical image stabilization and/or autofocus systems of the camera. The suspension assembly may include an inner frame, an outer frame, and one or more flexure arms. Electrical traces may be deposited at both sides of the suspension assembly. A connection may be created, for electrical traces at the different sides of the suspension assembly, through the suspension assembly by removing (e.g., using an etching process) one or more parts in the body of the suspension assembly to create one or more cavities. A remaining part of the suspension assembly surrounded (and thus isolated) by the cavities may thus form at least a part of the connection for the electrical traces. The connection may further include one or more filled trenches connecting the electrical traces to the remaining part of the suspension assembly.

Electrical traces in suspension assemblies

A suspension assembly of a camera, with electrical traces, may be formed using one or more electroforming processes. The suspension assembly may include one or more flexure arms connecting an inner frame to an outer frame of the camera. The inner frame may be moveable relative to the outer frame to implement autofocus and/or optical image stabilization functions for the camera. The electrical traces may be formed at a first side of a substrate, using one or more electroforming processes. Next, one or more cavities in various shapes may be created in one or more dry film photoresist (DFR) layers at a second side of the substrate by exposing the DFR layers to ultraviolet light. One or more electroforming processes may be used to deposit one or more materials in to the cavities to form one or more components, e.g., a flexure arm, of the suspension assembly.

Techniques for forming suspension assemblies for a camera

A heating system includes a first plurality of heating elements disposed within an electrostatic chuck and an electrically conductive housing. The heating system further includes one or more switching devices to control temperatures output by the first plurality of heating elements. The heating system further includes a converter that is electrically coupled to the one or more switching devices and disposed within the electrically conductive housing. The electrically conductive housing and the first plurality of heating elements are to operate in a radio frequency (RF) environment. A second plurality of elements are to operate outside of the RF environment. The converter is to communicate with a controller outside of the RF environment via a non-conductive communication link. The controller is to receive a process recipe and is to control the first plurality of heating elements and the second plurality of elements substantially simultaneously based on the process recipe.

Growing community of inventors

Newark, CA, United States of America

Phillip R Sommer